Two Birds One Stone
by To Be A Necessity
Summary: Jenna never came to Degrassi, so what happens to Clare and K.C.? Soon enough EClare.
1. Sophomore Year

**I completely made up this idea, so pleaaaassseeee don't use it :) I would really appreciate it if you didn't!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi**

"Can you believe it? Half a year!" K.C. excitedly shouted as he lifted me up. I giggled; could my life be any better? Sophomore year was already upon us, leading a path of exploration and success. And I wouldn't be on the path alone; with K.C. by my side, it seems as if we could _rule_ this world, hand in hand.

"I know!" I exclaimed. "It doesn't seem like it's been that long, though." K.C. and I walked through the familiar hallways, looking for our new classes. We had found out that we were in several classes together, but we weren't in the same gym, English, or lunch period. I shrugged though, because they were all unimportant to me at the moment.

"Well if we are so committed, then we will make it a _lot_ longer!" he sweetly said as I heard Alli gag.

"You guys are revolting," She growled, as we laughed at her. "I swear, when I get a boyfriend it'll be ten times better than _this_." I playfully hit her shoulder, exchanging schedules with her.

"We basically have the same classes together." I stated, my face brightening. "This is going to be an awesome year!"

"Yeah, woo-hoo." Alli sarcastically said, waving her hands in the air. I rolled my eyes.

"There'll be plenty of new faces around, Alli. You'll find someone you like." Alli hadn't been as lucky with boys as she had with Johnny, but I knew that she was in for the better. I hadn't liked Johnny personally; he wasn't good for her.

"There will be for you, too." Alli hastily whispered in my ear before departing us. I smiled at K.C., not showing the confusion on my face.

I hadn't doubted K.C. and me, but lately I had been feeling like things weren't as well as they could be going. K.C. was everything that I hadn't planned to be dating; a jock and someone extremely outgoing. I wasn't good at sports, none the less, and wasn't someone you would usually see dancing at Above the Dot. I guess it was a match that oddly fit; something that was unbreakable. Or so I could hope.

The bell rang as K.C. and I made our way to our first class, sitting next to each other as Ms. Oh introduced herself. I bounced slightly on the ball, but not too much to get her attention. Ms. Oh strictly prohibited that we do not bounce on the balls, which I didn't understand. Teenagers have a right to enjoy bouncing on exercise balls. I laughed quietly to myself as I thought about it.

As Ms. Oh directed us to use the instructions for our computers, K.C. passed me a note. I rolled my eyes, mouthing 'not now' but he beckoned me to open the note.

_Dot after school?_

I rolled my eyes once more; going to the Dot was more of a routine nowadays. We had started it during the summer, right when we had gotten out of our first year of Degrassi High School. I nodded in K.C.'s direction and he smiled. A normal smile.

I really had started doubting K.C. and me, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. Did I just believe that no one would want to go out with me? Little Saint Clare? I guess so, since I still looked the same as I had last year; minus the outfit. My hair was still long and curly, which K.C. loved. He urged me to keep it long, even though I loved having my hair short.

"I guess this is where we make our ways…" I trailed off as we got to my English class. I looked inside the classroom, seeing none of my friends. It would be fun, though.

K.C. poorly feigned a sad expression and I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you later?" He asked, as if for approval. I nodded my head, still smiling. He was a good boyfriend.

Ms. Dawes didn't wait a day to start assignments, which for some reason I enjoyed. I disliked the first day of school, usually because it was introductions to the teachers and the classmates; when you can go to the bathroom, etc. But no, Ms. Dawes started the first assignment.

I couldn't help but notice the boy in front of me. He looked like a modern grim reaper, wearing all black. I shrugged; don't judge a book by its cover, Clare. I wore a uniform all last year, so I shouldn't be the one to judge.

I walked to the Dot by myself as Alli flirted with another boy; someone that I assumed was in a higher grade. I was feeling giddy that the year had started perfectly, and was in a rush to get to the Dot.

I acknowledged that we had several new students but not many were in my grade. Most of them were juniors; Bianca DeSousa, Adam and Drew Torres, and Eli Goldsworthy. They all seemed like they would fit in; Bianca surely would be added with Fitz's group. Alli had already taken a liking to Drew Torres, who to me seemed like another Johnny; but better looking. And Eli and Adam I would suppose would become friends since they seemed different than the others.

"Clare!" K.C. shouted as I walked in his direction where he sat at a booth pushed against the wall. I just couldn't stop smiling today.

"Hey, K.C.! How's the new school year going?" I asked, seeing if he was just as excited for this year as I was. K.C. shrugged.

"It was okay; some of the classes were boring. But hey," He said, leaning closer to me. "At least we still have each other." How had I gotten so lucky to be with someone like K.C.? I had yet to figure that out.

"Yeah," I said as another awkward silence engulfed us. K.C. leaned back in his chair, twiddling his thumbs. Why had things been getting so awkward with us? Was it because I wasn't _that_ kind of girl? I shook the thought out of me as we ordered.

"So I'll see you in school tomorrow?" K.C. asked as we walked to my house together, hand in hand. I smiled and nodded, looking up at him.

He leaned forward as I did and our lips awkwardly met. There was no passion, no emotion. I looked down at the ground as he walked by.

I opened the front door to a new aroma to the house; anger.

"Randall! You can't start this _now_! You know what would happen if Clare found out about this." Mom said as she shouted angrily at Dad.

"What shouldn't I know?" I asked slowly, causing Mom to jump.

Mom held a hand to her heart. "Don't scare me like that, Clare. And it's nothing." I put my bag down in front of the stairs as I walked towards the couple; Mom's makeup was neatly removed from her face and Dad looked guilty of something.

"Seriously, what's been going on here?" I asked a little more sternly. They exchanged glances as they thought of a good excuse to use. "I _am_ your child; I have a right to know." With that, Mom turned around, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"We are just fighting." Dad stated, and Mom gave him a death glare; something I hadn't seen her do before. "She has a right to know." He murmured under his breath.

"Is it like… divorce… fighting?" I asked as Mom's eyes widened.

"No, honey." She said, putting a calming hand on my shoulder. I urged myself to shrug it off but I didn't have the heart to hurt her.

"I'll be in my room," I quietly said, my voice reaching an octave higher. I could feel the tears starting to brim my eyes as I ran to my room, closing the door as quietly as I could. I brought out my phone to call K.C., but what would he do-assure me that things would be fine? Our relationship was already as awkward as is.

I crawled to my bed, feeling too lightheaded to walk, and slowly let the tears fall down my face as I thought about what they were hiding from me. I could hear Mom start yelling at Dad, which was unusual for her to do. We were one of the most well-put-together families that had come to our church, and now we were falling down due to pressure that I didn't know of.

I woke up to an empty house, not knowing what had happened the night before. They were actually _fighting_? I was surely positive that they hadn't fought when Darcy was home, but of course Darcy was the 'perfect child'.

"Mom?" I asked once to see if she had left also. Her purse and her car keys were gone, no remains of them even being here for the night. I felt more tears come up to surface as I saw a letter on the counter.

_Clare,_

_Your father and I had to get to work extremely early this morning; I hope you do not mind walking to school today. I will be happy to pick you up after._

_Mom_

And yet, the note wasn't to my liking. There wasn't enough explanation for me to be completely satisfied. Mom usually had a better excuse that she could conjure to leave the house without a warning, but this? This wasn't who she was.

I walked out of the house, shuffling my feet on the sidewalk as my shoes scraped amongst it. I wished I had brought my IPod to listen to something while walking, but I had been in such a hurry to get out of the abandoned house that was called home.

"Clare?" Alli asked as she saw me at my locker. Alli gaped as she saw that I had had the worst night sleep yesterday. "What happened to you?" She added lightly.

"My parents were arguing yesterday. Arguing! I have never even seen them fight before." I murmured as we passed the hallways to first period. I didn't mind waiting for K.C., hoping he'd understand.

"Saint Clare's parent's fighting?" Alli questioned as she raised her eyebrows. I couldn't even plaster a fake smile on my face; it was too painful. Alli could see this. "Don't worry, Clare; things will blow over."

"Well, it's not only this, but K.C. and I have seemed a little 'distant'. Is the world coming to an end or something?" I asked as I watched Alli's expression. Alli shrugged.

"From what I've read online, we still have a few years." Alli laughed until I hit her arm. She rubbed the spot, saying, "Seriously? You're this upset? I haven't even seen you in this condition before!"

"It's hard to get me upset." I stated, turning on my computer. Alli did the same, keeping a safe distance away from me, only talking to me when necessary. I felt like God was doing this to me for a reason, but I couldn't understand why. I had been a perfect Christian for _years_-what had I done wrong? Other than the… vibrator accident, I had been as Christian as possible.

K.C. smiled at me whenever we passed in the halls, but he never talked to me. I frowned as I walked to lunch, eating alone. I looked for the new students as I finished eating, and saw that Alli had gone to sit with Drew Torres. I shrugged, getting out of my seat and leaving the cafeteria early; there was nothing there for me anyways.

I bumped into someone as I rushed out of an empty hallway, dropping the books I had in my hands. "Sorry!" I apologized to the boy in front of me, who looked somewhat terrified that I had bumped into him. Did I look that bad?

He knelt down quickly as I had to retrieve my things. "It's okay," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "It happens."

He must've been one of the new students since I hadn't seen him around. "You're Adam Torres, right?" I asked, and he nodded. "I'm Clare." I said, holding out my hand. He accepted it and smiled back.

"You're from my English class." I said, and he nodded.

"Yeah, you sit next to me, right?" I laughed.

"Yes. So you're a junior, then?"

"I'm guessing you are, too?" I shook my head, watching as he became confused.

"I'm a sophomore." I proudly said, and Adam nodded as we continued to walk to English class.

"You must be very smart then." he sheepishly said and I grinned.

"I guess." I concluded before sitting down.

I didn't bother to meet K.C. at the Dot that day, but instead, I wanted to talk to Adam more. We had walked out of class together, still talking. He was very nice; he would get more friends here as the days went by.

"I have to go, bye Clare!" He quickly said before running to his stepbrother, Drew. I wondered if he stayed with his biological mom or dad, or neither. But it wasn't my business; he would tell me if he wanted to.

"Bye." I said, slowly smiling.


	2. Conflict In Paradise

**This is just a quick update. It's going to be some time until Clare actually changes into the character that she is now in the TV show, but it's okay! This story is going to get more interesting soon-I promise!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi**

For once, I grinned as I hit the button on my alarm clock; I had a new friend. Adam Torres wasn't someone who I was attracted to personally, but he made me feel as if we were meant to be friends since we had met each other. I hadn't felt that emotion in a long time.

I would make sure to tell K.C. that I had a new guy friend, though, so then he wouldn't make any quick judgments. Maybe if I introduced them, they would become great friends. I just hope that they would feel the same way.

As I made my way downstairs again, I felt the silence and the anger wash throughout the kitchen and make its way to the living room. It was almost suffocating to feel, knowing that there were heated arguments in the two rooms between my beloved parents.

There was no note on the counter like yesterday, but I shrugged it off, making myself breakfast. As I ate slowly, I thought about how my school life and my family life could be so different.

The chilly morning made me reach for my sweatshirt that was placed neatly in my bag. I stopped at the front of the stairs to my house, putting on the jacket quickly. I couldn't believe that we had had warm weather here weeks ago when it was summer.

"Hey, Clare." Adam said as I walked towards the school. Adam was sitting down at one of the benches, a polite smile on his face.

"Good morning." I smiled as I sat across from him, seeing that he had a comic book in front of him. "Comics?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He nodded.

"It's a nerdy obsession." I laughed, shaking my head.

"You think that's nerdy?" I said, and Adam shrugged. I, Clare Edwards, was nerdier than a comic-book reading junior. "So how do you like Degrassi?" I asked, and I saw Adam grimace slightly.

"It's okay, but some of the bullies are getting to me." He looked down at his comic book, not as interested in it as before.

"Do you mean Fitz?" I asked, and he nodded. "He's always been a bad kid. Don't let him get to you." Adam looked up at me and smiled again.

"It's hard to do that sometimes." He stated, waving his hand towards someone who was walking towards us.

"Do you want me to go?" I asked, getting ready to ditch the table, but Adam shook his head quickly.

"I want you to meet him." As the person came closer, I noticed him from his choice of clothing and his hair color; he was who sat in front of me during English class. "Eli Clare, Clare Eli." Eli nodded in a greeting and I smiled as he sat down next to Adam.

"They have a new one out, you know." Eli said as he eyed the comic. Adam gaped.

"No they don't! I just went in the store yesterday." Eli laughed as he shook his head, and I watched the two, amused. It was like my addiction with Fortnight.

"Oh really?" He sarcastically said, rolling his eyes. He then acknowledged that I was still listening. "I'm guessing you don't like comics." He said as his green eyes boring into mine. It was calming.

"I don't mind actually; it's entertaining to see you two so interested in them. I personally don't like them, though." Eli feigned hurt as if he was stabbed in the heart.

"Comics are of value!" Adam exclaimed, and Eli snickered at him.

"They're valuable when they are older." I stated, crossing my arms. I glanced at the school, seeing that K.C. was now staring at me. I felt my smile slightly fall as I could see his confusion start to rise, but I nodded my head towards the table.

"Who's that?" Eli asked, as if he were annoyed.

"My boyfriend." I stated, smiling as he got closer. "Hey, K.C. I'd like you to meet Eli and Adam," I said gesturing towards the two. Adam looked slightly afraid. "They're in my English class." I said, exchanging glances.

"Why are you talking with them though?" K.C. asked and Adam slightly squirmed in his seat.

"They're my friends." I retorted, feeling hurt. K.C. rolled his eyes.

"Seriously?" He then acknowledged Adam in a different perspective. "I know you," He said as he grinned. "Adam Torres." If Adam could look any scared it would be shown on his face at that moment. "Fitz got you good yesterday," K.C. laughed. I stood up from the table.

"What's wrong with you?" I hotly argued. K.C. was _never_ like this!

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? These aren't people you would hang out with; what happened to Alli, anyways?"

"Knock it off, man." Eli said, looking up at K.C. with no fear whatsoever. I looked at Eli in awe, wondering how he could feel so confident talking back to someone double his size. I put a hand on K.C.'s shoulder, backing him away from Eli.

"I think it's time you left." I murmured quietly, still shocked that he was telling me who I should hang out with.

K.C. snorted and rolled his eyes. "Who knew you changed." I could feel myself gaping at his retreating figure, but I sat back down. It felt as if he slapped me in the face, showing a new side to him.

"No offense or anything, Clare," Eli started. "But you're boyfriends a jackass." I nodded in agreement, shaking my head.

"He's never been like that though," I said as Adam and Eli exchanged glances. "I guess people _do_ change." I shot back at myself as I stood up from the table, angrily walking into school.

I was still aggravated at K.C. for being so rude to Adam and Eli. I tried talking to him during first period but he merely shrugged and didn't say a word. I groaned silently to myself as I thought about things that had happened during the conflict. Eli looked fearless and Adam look terrified. _'It's okay, but some of the bullies are getting to me.'_ But K.C. wasn't a bully, and he didn't hang out with Fitz the last time I checked. I breathed out a laugh; Adam was like a bully detector in a way. Whenever someone he knew that could (and would) hurt him, he would look like a deer in headlights.

"Alli," I whispered, seeing that Ms. Oh was at her desk. Alli glanced away from her screen to look at me, giving me an accusing glare. "What's that for?" I asked, and she turned her head my way.

"If you didn't notice, I have been having some issues with Drew that I have been wanting to talk to you about. I texted you a million times!" Alli accused, but I shook my head.

"I left my phone at the kitchen table in my house; my parents are still neck and neck with each other." Alli rolled her eyes and was about to stop paying attention but i pulled her towards me. "Does K.C. hang out with Fitz?" I mumbled, and her eyes widened.

Alli opened and closed her mouth several times before finally speaking. "I had seen him high-fiving Fitz one time, but I didn't think anything of it. Why?" I looked over at K.C. to make sure that he wasn't listening.

"Well I was hanging out with Adam Torres and Eli Goldsworthy before school today, and K.C. saw me hanging out with them. As he came up to the table, Adam looked like he was about to make a run for it and then K.C. made some rude remarks about him." Allli laughed slightly as I hit her shoulder.

"K.C. is a football player now, Clare. He was destined to change some time." I sat straight up again, thinking about our conversation. I had changed, so he was allowed to, also. But become a bully? That was hardly possible.


	3. Real Nightmares

**I feel _really_ good about writing this because it opens up a lot of doors for Clare, and a lot more drama! Also the conclusion of this chapter I created because I have heard that some people can get messages from God in their dreams before it happens (which I have somewhat experienced), which I hope to add more of in future chapters!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi, but I do own Alice.**

I took unfamiliar hallways to my other classes, making sure that I wouldn't bump into K.C. as the school day came to an end. K.C. was destined to change like I had, no doubt about it, but did he have to become the opposite of what I had started dating?

It was frustrating knowing that with change comes different interests. Does that mean he doesn't like me the same way he had? It was possible; the awkward conversations became more frequent, especially when kissing. I started to believe that love didn't exist anymore.

"Hey," someone said as I accidentally bumped into them. I turned around to see that it was Eli, a smirk smugly placed on his face. Luckily, I didn't drop any books like I had with Adam. "Sorry for bumping into you." He smoothly said.

"It was my fault; I wasn't paying attention." Eli must've known what I was going to say because he mischievously looked at me.

"Trouble in paradise with your asshole boyfriend?" He asked, and I smiled, looking at the floor.

"Somewhere near that." I murmured, thinking about why he had such an interest in it. "Do you know something about K.C. that I don't?"

Eli chuckled, moving his weight to his other leg. "I doubt I do, but all I know is that you could totally get someone better than _him_."

"I think anyone can see that at this moment," I muttered. I turned my body to walk away but a gentle presence lingered on my shoulder. His green eyes were unfathomable.

"If you need someone to talk to, Adam or I would happily agree to talk to you." He said, seriousness gone for a second before the smug expression returned. I rolled my eyes, walking away.

"Thanks." I retorted.

_As K.C. grasped my hand in an unfamiliar part of town, I stopped suddenly to see K.C.'s dull eyes look through me. _

"_I told you not to become friends with them," K.C. spat, about to kick me. A sharp pain came into my chest as I saw blood cascading down my blouse and to the ground. Another pain in my head as I fell down to the crosswalk, drowned in my own thoughts. I closed my eyes, praying to God to let me leave early to stop all the pain…_

I gasped as I woke up, still panting from my nightmare. What in God's name was it, I hadn't a clue. But all I knew was that things were going to have to change between K.C. and me to assure that I would be safe. I believed in dreams as being a message from God, and I couldn't take any chances.

I took out my phone as I glanced at the clock, groaning. It was seven in the morning on a Saturday; K.C. would _not_ be awake. I texted him instead:

_Meet me at the Dot at 10?_

Surely enough I let sleep come over me until it was nine o'clock, hastily getting out of bed. I didn't remember any fighting going on between my parents last night; had they come home? I hadn't checked anything, knowing that it would pain me more if I had waited for them to come home. I winced at thinking about what they could have argued about last night, and then got dressed.

Even though K.C. didn't answer my text, I would go to the Dot just in case he _had_ come to meet me. He was sending all kinds of mixed signals, some of which I didn't understand at all. One thing I knew for sure was that K.C. wasn't going to get better if we still remained a couple.

For my own happiness, I would break it off. I looked in the mirror as I repeated it, believing it more and more as it became imprinted into my memory. I checked all the rooms for vacancy, and then left for the Dot.

"I'll have an iced tea." I concluded to Peter. My fingers tapped the table in an unknown pattern, but it sounded nice to me. Change was always good; I just had to keep reminding myself that.

Checking my phone again after drinking my whole glass of iced tea, I acknowledged that it was eleven. How could he not have checked his phone by now? I decided to forget about the whole idea, and ordered myself lunch and other tea.

"You seem to be waiting for someone, right?" Peter asked as my food came. I shrugged.

"I asked someone if they could meet me here; I guess they couldn't." Peter stood straighter, smiling at me.

"Well then, I guess they're a douche." I chuckled as he walked away, thinking about all the comments people had made about K.C.

In no rush to get home, I walked a longer route, taking in the scenery. I barely knew the streets, but if I got lost I would turn back.

"Clare?" Someone calmly asked as they walked behind me. Oddly enough, I had the guts to not try and run away.

"Hey, K.C. I wanted to talk to you at the Dot today, but I guess you couldn't make… it" I trailed off as I saw K.C. behind me with a girl-a short brunette with curly hair. "Uh…" was all that came out of my response as I saw that the girl gave me a shy smile.

That's when I saw K.C.'s arm slung over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to keep myself calm. It was somewhat unbearable to see the girl looking so comfy under my boyfriend's arm, but he quickly removed it.

"This is my uh… friend," He said as I raised an eyebrow, not buying it. "Alice." Alice looked up at him with an angry expression, and then smiled back at me.

"I'm his girlfriend." She stated her chin proudly up in the air. I sighed, rolling my eyes at K.C.

"You just couldn't wait, could you?" I asked, keeping my arms crossed. I smiled at how uncomfortable he looked, and then I looked at Alice again. "I can't believe that you forgot about how psyched you were that we had been dating for half a year." Alice's chin fell down as she gaped, and now K.C. looked like he was about to ditch the two of us. I shook my head in disbelief. "I asked you to come to the Dot so then I could tell you that I was breaking it off, and that I'm interested in someone else. But you see, I guess you couldn't keep your promise as I had." I sarcastically placed a hand over my heart, hurt. "Goodbye." I said, pretending to get teary-eyed, and walked away from to two, wondering what adventures were still on the new streets.

"Clare, I'm not done yet!" He argued hotly, running up to me. I could see the anger in his expression and true hate as I saw that Alice was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, hoping that he hadn't hurt her. "Did you do anything to her?" My voice was now wavering as I looked at K.C. waiting for an explanation.

"You had no part in that!" He shouted, getting closer to me. I took one back, stumbling partly into the road. "Alice was my _friend_!"

"Oh really?" I said, pretending to think. "I could've thought differently when she stated that she was your 'girlfriend'. You know, I was going to break it off just an hour ago and you didn't have the time to hear it! Did you really think you could do this behind my back?" Tears filled my eyes as I acknowledged another fact about K.C.; he was a player. A player that would never change.

K.C.'s anger subsided slightly as he looked in my eyes, and I broke the connection. "So who do you like now?" He asked, remembering what I had said before. Crap. I had said it to make him feel guiltier, but I did have a common person in my head.

"E-Eli." I stuttered, not thinking straight. I shouldn't have said his name! _He_ would get hurt because I had told K.C. I had an attraction to him.

K.C.'s face turned back to anger. "Eli Goldsworthy? You think that a _junior_ would date a _sophomore_?" I ignored his poor sarcasm, and shrugged.

"Pretty much," I said innocently, seeing that he was becoming frustrated. For once, I felt smug. "And he has something that you used to have, and that's kindness!" I yelled, walking away from him. I was now walking down parts of the town that I hadn't known existed, and was pulled back as I was almost done passing a crosswalk.

"Let go of me," I cried, feeling ridiculous that I had started crying over someone I didn't like anymore. "Let go of me."

K.C. shook his head in awe, and I knew that he wasn't done talking to me. "I told you not to become friends with them," K.C. spat at me, and I was taken into déjà vu. The nightmare.

"No!" I shouted, trying to run away from him but his grip just got stronger. The now loud stores were silent as a loud bang filled the town, echoing to be heard nearby.

Blackness, my friend, is something to be happy for.


	4. Conveying Wishes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi**

A pain in the back of my head came through the numb feeling that I had been in for hours as I was waking up. I wanted to tell them to let me sleep forever, to let me feel no pain, but that wasn't possible. That would include something on the lines of dying.

My eyelids shut tighter as the light became more and more enhanced. I groaned, shifting in my position. Was I lying down? I moved again and felt slight pressure on the side of my right arm as I tried to open my eyes.

"Where am I?" I slurred, laughing at how I sounded. I sounded high on medication, and that's when it all came back to me.

Fighting with K.C., hearing a gun shot. I wondered where Alice was-was she okay? I remembered the pain, the sweltering from the bullet as it hit my side. Falling down, losing consciousness.

Was I safe?

That was something that I didn't know. I _felt_ safe as I didn't hear K.C.'s voice in the distance, but who drugged me? I wished for it to be doctors, since I couldn't feel where the bullet hit me. But who in God's name would have the urge to shoot me? The numbing became oppressive after a while, and I wished for it to immediately go away so I could take control over my body.

"Clare." I heard a feminine voice say, but the voice sounded different. It sounded like when you're underwater and someone is calling for you from above. "Clare."

Then, more voices came into my hearing and I could hear several people talking about my condition, as if to explain it to someone. "She should heal within a few weeks, but we'd like to have her stay here for a week or so. Just so then we know that she is healing properly." A male voice said, and then I understood that I was in a hospital.

Mom's hand touched my cheek, my eyes fluttering open. Her face looked pained yet relieved as she smiled at me. I looked at where the doctors were, talking to my father. I guessed that they had resolved their fighting issues and were going to stay together, which made me internally smile.

"Mom." I groaned as I felt my stomach painfully move from me talking. I winced afterwards, my hand drawn to the pain in my side.

"We were so worried," She said, tears falling down her face like I guessed they had been. "When we heard that you were shot, I…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish. And I didn't want her to; it was painful to even think about the memory.

"Who shot me?" I whispered, not having anymore strength to talk louder. I wanted to fall asleep again.

Mom shook her head, her eyes closing. "We don't know. We had heard that the… 'person'… was trying to shoot K.C., but had poor aim and had hit you. Other than that, we don't know, honey." I looked at her in disbelief, wanting to know who had put me here.

"So that person is still out there?" I said an octave higher, wincing as the pain came back. She nodded, looking almost regretful for telling me. "They need to find him," I whispered. "Before he or she hurts someone else."

Mom took my hand in hers gently, kissing it. I watched her silently as she put it back on my lap, feeling somewhat empty. I didn't know who had shot me, and yet I still had to live my life without knowing? That was overbearing!

"Visiting hours is almost over," she sniffled, looking at me. I nodded, remembering that I had to stay here for a week. "But we will come back tomorrow, and maybe we can get Alli to bring you your assignments from school?" I nodded, yawning slowly to not bring the pain back.

"Bye, Mom." I murmured, looking at my hands. I couldn't bear to look at her expression as she and my father left the room, leaving me alone.

* * *

Turning on the TV, I watched several shows until I yawned once more, this time too overwhelming for my wound. I was ready to scream in pain but I kept my mouth closed, feeling a little bit overdramatic with the situation. But I had a right to; I wanted to know who had shot me. I _would_ find out who shot me. I just had to heal for the moment, and then I could be on this task to watch K.C.'s enemies closer, to see if it really _was_ an accident. And I would have to find out about Alice, too.

"I think it's time to give you another dose of medication." A nurse said as she came into my room and I nodded. She added the liquid to the IV and I winced as I felt the IV kick in again, but then sleep ensued.

The days went on the same way, watching TV or going on my laptop for hours and then falling asleep at a decent hour, until Friday. Friday was when I was allowed to depart the hospital and return home, my wound mostly healed. I was surprised by how fast it had healed, but I still did things with caution for it was not done healing. The doctor said, "If you do one thing with too much strain on that side of your body, the heal will reopen and you will be back here for another week." I winced as I thought about how much pain that would be, but I nodded and smiled as I left with my mother.

"Is dad going to be home when we get there?" I asked, looking out the window in contentment. My face fell as I noticed that my mother was in no rush to answer me, focusing on the road. I huffed loudly, feeling a tinge of pain in my side, but I ignored it. "Are you two still fighting?" I asked as my voice wavered.

This time she looked at me with sincerity. "Everything is fine," she lied, smiling. "Your father will not be home tonight because he is at work; the company has been having major issues with their new product." I shook my head as she turned back to watching the road, looking out the window in anger. My mother should at least know that she cannot lie to me; it's easy to spot when she lies.

We got to the house in record time, and although I wanted to run upstairs to my room, I slowly entered. It was chilly in the room as if it was a vacant house for weeks. I put on my jacket as I walked upstairs.

I saw that Alli had emailed me most of my assignments since she was too busy to come to the hospital to see me, but I bought it anyways. She was falling for Drew, and she was acting like I had when I was with K.C. I laughed; love can do weird things to people.

I prayed to God as I hoped that K.C. didn't tell Eli anything about our conversation since it was one that I had partially made up for his own guilt. I regretted even conveying my crush on Eli, but I couldn't take it back _now_. That would just make things worse in my case.

I had two days to finish all of my missed assignments, which would be easy to do for me, but it wouldn't be easy to talk to people in school on Monday. I wondered what rumors were made about K.C. and I and the incident I was part of, and I wondered if K.C. talked to anyone about the whole conversation.

I hoped Monday would just be a regular school day, but things are hard to receive; especially when you take part in them.

**This chapter isn't much of importance to me, but it's a filler before I can bring in more entertaining things. Reviews are highly appreciated! )**


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